Keynote CEO panel – What is the future of the Asian aviation industry?

At Aviation Festival Asia, the keynote CEO panel gathered to discuss, “What is the future of the Asian aviation industry as we come out of the pandemic and how will further digital technology adoption, sustainability, collaboration and new business models help shape the outlook for 2023 and beyond?” Panellists included Tony Fernandes, CEO Capital A, Chai Eamsiri, CEO Thai Airways, and David Emerson CCO, Virgin Australia.

The session covered the developments of the last few years, business models, pricing, sustainability and more. Briefly contextualising the pandemic with the panellists’ low points and lessons, the conversation focused predominantly on its aftermath. Here, Eamsiri, Fernandes, and Emerson offered diverging perspectives on the prevalence of post-pandemic uncertainty and how this continues to translate into customer behaviours and booking patterns. Delving deeper into the pandemic, the panellists also gave their predictions on how long “revenge travel” will last and identified shifts in demand from various customer segments.

Towards the end, sustainability was explored, looking at the demands it places on various stakeholders and examining customer sentiment towards the problem. During this, a variety of approaches to the topic of sustainability were offered and evaluated.

Watch the full session to hear from these industry leaders on the emerging landscape, sustainability, business models, pricing, markets, and more.

To hear more from these industry leaders see:

• Chai Eamsiri, CEO Thai Airways – Keynote interview, “Bringing back confidence”
• Tony Fernandes, CEO Capital A – Keynote interview, “I think if you don’t use it, you’ll regret it.”
• David Emerson, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Virgin Australia – Keynote interview, “Five years of change in five months”

Article by Jess Brownlow

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